Of Chimeras and Ghosts
by SL the Pyro
Summary: They thought the world was reset. They thought the world was saved. They didn't realize they had unleashed something much worse than Porky... LucasxKumatora DISCONTINUED, reasons listed within.
1. Prologue: Taking Responsibility

**A/N:** Wow, I'm finally back and getting into writing again. And my first order of business is to make a new story... a rehash of the massive oneshot I made a couple of weeks prior to today. After I had the errors in my story pointed out to me, I saw that I had made quite a few mistakes. So I've decided to remake the fiction into a chapter story with the fixes implemented as I go along. Enjoy!

P.S.: I am going to delete the old _Of Chimeras and Ghosts_ after posting this story, so for those who are still interested in it, you can find it at forum (dot) starmen (dot) net under the Writing section.

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_Prologue: Taking Responsibility_

"Dad!? Boney!? Princess!? Mr. Duster!? Where are you!?" he cried in frantic concern. At first, this cave was filled with mysterious, eerie and beautiful purple glow that came from some of the rocks he was standing on, and from a massive amount of rocks down below. Just a few moments ago, he was with all of the people he was calling out to.

That is… until he pulled the final, golden light-bathed needle from one of those rocks at that time. It was absolute terror for the young savior then, the purple light having faded almost immediately after the flash of light that commonly accompanied the pulling of a needle. When that light had subsided, he was only aware of two things; the sudden, infinite darkness that had replaced the purple-glowing cavern, and a massive earthquake that seemed to last for an eternity. He had been smart, knowing where he was and could possibly stumble and fall to his death, so he planted himself to the cold and invisible ground.

Now the massive tremor had subsided, though the darkness had not left his view. He could still see nothing, and was now concerned for his companions. "Lucas!? Are you alright!?"

It was a voice that Lucas could never forget, the voice of his own father. And it was very close by. He turned his head in its direction. "Dad!? Where are you!?" he shouted back.

"Walking towards you, I think!" came his father's reply. He then heard the stomping of his father's boots on the rocky surface, an attempt at giving the blonde an indication of where he was. When he heard the boot step right beside him, he reached out a hand towards the source of the sound. "There you are!" he said with a relieved sigh.

"Dad… thank goodness." Lucas breathed out, relieved as well as he tried to get his heart to stop racing. "But… where's Boney? And Kumatora? And Duster?"

The first question was answered when he heard the barking of a dog, along with the running of feet along the black ground. Quickly he could hear Boney's breathing near him. "I'm over here!" came the voice of a female, undoubtedly Princess Kumatora since she was the only girl among the group. Her voice was much further away than Flint's was. "I don't know where Duster is though…"

"I'm alright! I think I'm really close to an edge though…" was the thief's reply. He was a greater distance away than Kumatora, it seemed.

"Geez, does anyone have a light or something? I can't see a thing!" Kumatora yelled.

"Hold on, hold on, let me see what I have…" Duster called back. A shuffling was heard, presumably the sound of him rummaging through his items; it would be difficult to find something in the darkness, but it sounded like he was trying. "Alright, I think I got it!"

The group's hopes lifted at little, but were quickly dampened when they were not met with any visual stimulation, but instead a very shrill ringing that was made louder by the echoes of the cavern. Everyone screamed in agony and covered their ears. "Damn it Duster, not the Siren Beetle!" Kumatora roared in obvious disapproval over the loud noise of the mystical thief tool. The shrill ringing then stopped, and Boney growled at Duster, equally aggravated at the mix up.

"I'm sorry! But finding the right object in complete darkness isn't an easy task!" Duster apologized.

He could hear Kumatora groan. "Well, this is one hell of a world reset. It looks more like the Dragon turned all the lights out!"

Lucas was also going to apologize to the former Princess of Osohe, since he had pulled the final needle… when he realized he could suddenly see a very faint brown. "Hey… I think I see Boney!" he said with a renewed hope. Slowly the colour became more defined, and the area around the leg was starting to gain a grey-like complexion. "Yeah, I do! The light's coming back!"

"Hey, you're right! I can see my hands!" Kumatora said in awe.

"…Oh my God…" came Flint's voice in a state of disbelief. "Everyone, look up!"

All eyes were directed towards the roof of the cave… or at least, where the roof of the cave should have been, which was now as _massive_ hole that spanned for miles. Instead, a massive patch of black was visible against a dull-grey background. That background was what was supplying the light. "What… is… that…?" Lucas said in fright and surprise.

As if a reply to his question, a loud, earth-shaking roar erupted from the patch of black. Everyone braced themselves against the ground. "It's… it's…" Duster repeated in a loss for words.

"The Dragon!" Kumatora shouted in utter disbelief.

No one knew what to do or how to react to this. Although it was speculated that the seven needles scattered across Nowhere Island had sealed the Dragon and its incredible power under it, it was still difficult to believe that a creature this enormous could actually exist. But now, they could not deny that they were in the presence of the mythical beast.

As the rumbling from the Dragon's roar had ceased, the massive patch of black began to move. It was slowly inching forwards at first, but within a brief moment, its speed had increased drastically and it was out of their view. They could now see that the dull-grey background that was behind the dragon was, in fact, the sky. It was covered in dark-grey, ominous-looking clouds. "Wow… the sky looks rather depressing…" Duster commented. Regardless, the Dragon's exodus from the scene had allowed the bleak light of the sky to fill the cavern. This came as a great relief to Lucas, who got to his feet. He looked down the rock path to see Kumatora sitting on the middle of it on her knees, and Duster a little further down at the edge like he had predicted. Seeing his earlier prediction of being near the edge come true was more than enough motivation to scramble away from it and onto safer ground.

"The Dragon's rising must have erupted the volcano." Flint theorized as Kumatora and Duster jogged over to him and Lucas. "Considering that the island could have been torn apart when it broke free, I think we're lucky to be alive right now."

"Huh. Kind of rude for it to fly off without even a 'thank you…'" Kumatora said with a scoff.

Lucas looked at her in silent agreement. The Dragon was freed thanks to all of the trials that he had went through; the loss of his mother, battling the Pig Mask Army and Porky… his own _brother_ dying in his arms… a sense of overwhelming urgency dominated him when the memories of that dreadful battle resurfaced. Without a word, he spun on his heel and sprinted over to the impression of the ground that the final needle was once jammed into. Everyone looked at him in confusion until they say where he was headed… the body of his brother. He slowed down as he approached him, his eyes briefly drifting to the battle gear that he had thrown away when he was himself again, and fell to his knees at his side.

"Claus…" he breathed out, his hand slowly caressing the back of his brother's head and moving it so he could take a good look at his face. It looked calm, almost serene… now the disaster was averted, Lucas had taken full notice that his brother had, in fact, passed on. And it tore him up inside. Tears began to well up in his eyes, and he buried his face himself in the black jacket of his brother and began to cry.

Everyone crowded around the twins, solemn expressions on their faces. Flint was the only one who could really understand his son's pain, while the others only wished that they could. "Losing his Mother when he was only ten, and his brother dying in his arms… poor thing…" Duster muttered.

Kumatora looked at Lucas for a moment while trying to fight back her own tears, then shook her head away from the sad sight. "I wish I could sympathize with the kid… I grew up without even knowing my real parents… and I thought I had it rough…"

Boney trodded over to Lucas' side, letting out a whimper as he looked at his master in his darkest hour. Flint walked up to the opposite side of his son, kneeling down beside him and placing a hand on his shoulder. "Lucas… I'm sure if Claus were still with us right now, I'm sure he'd be thanking you…"

Lucas sniffed before looking up at his father, his eyes red. "Thanking me…?"

"Yes, thanking you…" Flint said. "He was used like a toy by Porky, forced to do unspeakable things… I'm sure he's happy where he is now, at your Mother's side…"

Lucas simply looked at his father for a moment, then back at Claus as he thought about what he had said. Being his twin brother, he knew Claus better than anyone. He was outgoing, carefree and courageous… if he'd had any control over himself, Lucas was sure it would be tearing him up inside. "You're right…" he admitted. "If Claus was himself, he… he would've tried to stop Porky… he would've fought… tried to make up for all the things he did…" he said, slowly rising to his feet. Flint looked at him with an unchanging expression, wondering what he was doing.

Lucas walked over to Claus' weapon of choice that he had dropped, the Thunder Sword. He bent down, grasping the hilt of the golden weapon and picking it up. He could still feel the power burning through this weapon. "Lucas… what are you doing?" Duster asked, slightly concerned.

"What Claus would've done if he had the chance…" Lucas replied cryptically, standing over the helmet that Claus had taken off. He picked it up briefly, only to set it back on the ground in its upright position. "This helmet… this was what Porky used to control him… to force him to hurt all those innocent people…" He slowly raised hilt of the sword above his head, remembering all of the trouble he was subjected to at his brother's alter ego, the Masked Man. "Claus… this is for you!"

And then he drove the sword down with as much force as he could muster. The powerful weapon cleaved through the helmet and hit the ground below it, causing a surge of electricity to and a wave of force to spike from the point of impact. When the energy had subsided, the helmet was blown to pieces, its scattered fragments charred from the electric shock. Flint was concerned for his son's safety, but when he saw him standing there perfectly unharmed, he remembered that electricity didn't effect him because of the Franklin Badge that was pinned to his shirt.

Lucas breathed hard, the brief rush of adrenaline that had consumed him leaving as quickly as it had came. He let out a long sigh, attempting to calm his nerves before looking at the blade that he was holding. He then turned to his father and asked, "Dad… is it okay… if I keep this?"

Flint was slightly surprised at this question. "Why do you ask?"

"This sword…" Lucas began. "…was the only thing Claus had that wasn't mechanical. I want something… to remember him by… something to help me protect Tazmily…"

Everyone was silent for a moment, with Flint in a state of contemplation. "I admire how bold you are Lucas, but what are you going to protect Tazmily _from_? With Porky gone, there won't be any more Pig Masks…" Duster explained.

"…But there might still be Chimeras." Kumatora countered. "And if the Dragon does reset the world like it's supposed to, there could be new trouble. You never know."

Flint thought about his son's proposition, taking what Kumatora had said into account as well. Finally, he spoke. "You would be taking on a big responsibility, Lucas. You've seen that protecting people isn't easy, and you will have to learn to control the power you're holding. Are you sure you can do it?"

It was Lucas' turn to think. It was true, this sword had the potential to protect many things as well as destroy them. Although… he was not controlled by an evil dictator like Claus was. He didn't want to use this weapon for evil. "I want to try…" he answered. "If not for me or the other townspeople, then for Claus…"

For a tense moment, his father looked at him with a stern expression. But then, his mouth curved up into a smirk. "You've grown up, son… alright, you can keep the sword. But just remember that you'll have to toughen up. I'll be working you hard."

Lucas' face lit up, and he nodded. "I know. I promise I won't let you or Claus down." he said with determination, his tone of voice a noticeably happier one.

Flint's smirk became a grin. "That's what I like to hear." He looked around for a moment, as if looking for something. He found it in the form of his cowboy hat, which he promptly dusted off and placed back onto his balding head. He gently picked of Claus' body and carried him in his arms and said, "Well, everyone… let's go home."

Kumatora smiled. "About time, this place isn't as inviting since it stopped glowing." she said.

Duster sighed. "I have to say, home never sounded so good…"

And so the group of heroes turned from the former site of the final Dark Dragon Needle, their destination the town of Tazmily. Flint waited for his son to come up beside him, and he smiled. Lucas had faced more trials than anyone in this dreadful journey, overcoming the death of his mother and brother, overthrowing an evil dictator and saving the world.

He had never been more proud of his son.

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**A/N:** I have the first chapter done already, so it will be posted shortly. Stay tuned!


	2. Chapter 1: Rebuilding

**A/N:** And here's the next chapter, as I promised.

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_Chapter 1: Rebuilding_

"Heave, ho! Heave, ho! Heave, ho!"

"C'mon, just a little bit more!"

"Heave, ho!"

With one final surge of effort, another wall was pulled up into the foundation of a new building. The group of men noticed the sudden slacking of the ropes they used to pull it up, and thusly dropped them and sighed with relief. "Great job! Alright, we've got two more of these to put up, so lets try and get this done by the end of the day!" commanded the voice of Lighter, who was leading the group and was none the worse for the wear in comparison to them. A collection of groans and cheers were let out from the small crowd as another slab of large, wooden wall was being carried over to them with the help of a hovering forklift.

It had been six months since the revolt against King Porky. When the Dragon of Darkness had risen, the populaces of Tazmily and New Pork City were very shocked and disappointed about the result, firstly because it didn't appear that the world had been reset. Or at least, Nowhere Island hadn't been reset; when the island-sized beast had ascended, it had came out all in one spot instead of destroying all of the island, resulting in a massive tear in the ground above the cave that stretched all the way to the volcano. The second problem was that the volcano's eruption had spewed igneous rocks onto the floating New Pork City and sent it crashing into the side of the island; it was the _only_ place that was really damaged by the eruption, as if the volcano was punishing the Pig Mask Army for trying to revive the Dragon with evil intentions in mind. Fortunately, the casualties were minimal and the deceased were properly buried at the cemetery. A service was held for them after all the bodies were believed to be found.

In the wake of this disaster, the citizens of Tazmily reached out to the citizens of New Pork and offered residence to them. Since that time, the remaining six months had been a massive operation of expanding the village and bringing supplies and necessities from what was left of New Pork. The army was lost without their king -- especially the vast majority that had used Porky's Good Person Spa -- and had no choice but to accept the generous offer; some were reluctant, but the fact was that the Pig Mask Army was virtually finished and that there was no way for the people to get back to their own time frame, so they had no alternative.

By this point in time, the expansion of Tazmily was very nearly done, the village having been almost completely transformed into a city even bigger than New Pork. Everyone who was capable was helping the cause, even Kumatora and Duster when they had gotten the point across that being a girl or having a limp made no difference. The effort was mainly led by Flint and Lighter, one usually taking over for the other when they were training their sons. True to his word, Flint had trained Lucas hard, and the surviving twin had made no argument about it. The thirteen year old savior -- soon to be fourteen in a week -- had become almost as strong as his mentor, and this was when his powerful PSI and newfound mastery of his brother's Thunder Sword weren't taken into account. This progress had left Lighter's son, Fuel, jealous to the point where he asked his own father to train him. The boys would occasionally spar with each other, sometimes to keep their skills sharp, sometimes for the sake of fun. If she was around, sometimes Kumatora would watch them spar, and usually jump in when she felt like it.

Ironically, the arduous expansion of Tazmily was the most peaceful time the citizens had ever had, both to its original residents and to the ones who had taken it over. It was an awkward experience, but the people were adjusting nicely.

However, all good things must come to an end at some point. From atop the edge of the tower of the haunted Osohe Castle, a figure watched. Regret and sadness resonated in his young, black eyes. _"Enjoy this peace now… because it'll be gone really soon…"_

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"C'mon boys, are you going easy on me just because a girl?" Kumatora taunted, her black fighting gloves planted on her hips and a cocky smile on her face. She was staring down Lucas and Fuel, the former armed with a wooden sword and the latter armed with a large two-by-four. Lucas and Flint worked together to craft his sword to be like his brother's, but without the electrical charge. Fuel simply had a smaller version of his father's preferred weapon. They had been sparring with each other in Flint's yard, until Kumatora practically appeared out of nowhere and decided to join them as per usual. Despite the two-on-one difference, the boys weren't doing so well; neither of them had landed a real hit, and both of them had been punched and kicked several times. Lucas was on one knee, and Fuel was lying on the ground face-first.

That is, until Kumatora's taunt caught his ear. Fuel was on his feet immediately, his face red from anger. He growled and retorted, "I'll show you!" He yelled out a war cry as he held his two-by-four up and charged at her.

Kumatora shook her head and sighed. The two-by-four came down towards her, but she quickly sidestepped it and it hit the ground. "This is why you never win against Lucas." she said just before she sent her fist into Fuel's face, causing him to stagger backward. A kick to his stomach sent him off of his feet, and he landed on his back. "It's too easy to push your buttons. And speaking of Lucas…" she said, turning to him in preparation to charge… or rather, where he _was_. "Where did he go?"

"Right here!" came his voice from behind her. Kumatora wheeled around quickly, bracing her arms to block his incoming wooden sword; he had used Fuel's attack as a distraction to sneak up on her. He pulled his sword back and swung again to an unguarded part of her midsection, but she jumped to the side. He didn't let up, swinging his sword quickly but with precision at her, up to five times. But each one was either blocked or dodged, until she caught the sword by the hilt and blade, putting them in a deadlock.

Throughout it all, Kumatora's smile hadn't faded. "C'mon, when has something ever snuck up on me like that, Lucas?" she inquired.

"Plenty of times! I should know, I was there for them." Lucas countered, trying to outmuscle Kumatora. A bad plan of attack, as Kumatora was not only stronger, but also taller. Using this poor choice of tactics against him, she quickly pushed her foot against his chest, using it to help hoist him up into the air so she could use the momentum he was trying to generate to throw him to the other side of her. "Whoa!" Lucas shouted in alarm and surprise, landing on the ground with a roll until he stopped on his back, laying out flat. He groaned and said, "Bad idea…" He could hear Kumatora's laughter in response.

A whistle caught the sparring trio's attention, and they turned to see Flint standing at the doorway to his house. "If anyone wants some supper, I have some lamb chops ready!"

"Ooh, good. This fighting works up an appetite." Kumatora commented, smacking her lips. Lucas got to his feet with a chuckle and followed her.

Fuel was the last to get to his feet, raising his two-by-four and vowing, "I'll beat you one of these days, Kumatora!"

"_Sure_ you will." Kumatora joked back to further infuriate the brunette as she entered Flint and Lucas' home; despite all of the change that Tazmily was going through, the father and son still wanted their home to remain the same. The only difference was that they had a telephone hooked up. Kumatora was immediately greeted with the aroma of fried meat when she walked in, and it made her mouth water; Flint wasn't as well known for his cooking as he was for his cowboy-esque personality and strength, but she had firsthand experience that he could make some grade-A meat.

"It's nothing like Hinawa's cooking I'm sure, but it's edible." Flint said, bringing over a plate of freshly-fried lamb chops and putting them on the dinner table.

Kumatora took a seat, immediately putting her fork into a lamb drop and lifting it onto her plate, then taking a quick bite without even cutting a piece off. After swallowing it, she said, "You're being too modest, Flint. If anything, Hinawa's rubbed off on you a little." Lucas and Fuel took their seats as they talked.

Flint shook his head and replied, "No she hasn't. I still can't make an omelet for the life of me." Lucas, Kumatora and Fuel all burst into laughter at the thought of a cowboy making an omelet. He grabbed some mashed potatoes from the counter, setting them on the table before finally taking a seat himself. Everyone promptly took their share of food and began to dig in. "The expansion is coming along nicely. Lighter thinks that if things keep going the way they are, we'll be done by the end of the week."

"That soon?" Kumatora replied. "I think Lighter's asking a little much…"

"Haha, that's my dad for ya!" Fuel interrupted. "He's as hard-working as they come, and he wants the same from the people who work for him."

Lucas swallowed some potatoes and joined the conversation. "It's actually possible, we all thought it was going to take at least a year. Lighter and Dad have got it done in half the time."

"The sooner it's done, the better." Flint said. "Everyone wants a home to themselves, and the best way to do it is to help _build_ it themselves. The best part is that even the people whose homes are already built are still pitching in when they can. People are helping each other out of the goodness of their hearts instead of just for money… just like the old days."

"Yeah, and snow is supposed to fall just after the week is over." Lucas informed everyone. "We're lucky it'll be done before then."

"Hey, speaking of the end of the week… isn't your birthday coming up, Lucas?" Fuel asked before biting into a lamb chop.

"Heheh, yeah." Lucas answered, rubbing the back of his head. "I'll be fourteen years old on Saturday."

Kumatora blinked and said, "Whoa, really? I wish someone had told me…"

Lucas shook his head. "No no, it's okay Kumatora. My birthdays aren't all that special anyway."

"…Well, they had to better than the ones that _I_ had." Kumatora stated. Everyone looked at her skeptically. "What? You try having a party thrown by ghosts."

A collective "Ohh" echoed from Lucas, Fuel and Flint in understanding.

"Anyway, I've been hearing rumors about a boat… what's that about?" Kumatora inquired.

"It's a side project that some of the people are working on." Flint explained. "They want to see if the world really was reset for themselves, so they were going to search for new land with it."

"They're just now doing that?" Kumatora said in disbelief.

"They were scared that they'd wind up in open water for the rest of their lives." Flint clarified. "Everyone was. Some of them are taking the chance, though. They're setting sail tomorrow morning."

Lucas looked at his father with a slight smile. "I hope they find something…" he said. Everyone silently agreed with him.

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The conversations remained lively and random as Flint, Lucas, Kumatora and Fuel ate their fill. As they finished, Fuel was the first to get up. "Well, time for me to go. Dad wants me to help out with the construction tonight. Thanks for supper, Mr. Flint."

"You're welcome, Fuel." Flint answered.

Fuel nodded and said, "See you guys later!" as he turned and jogged out the door.

"Mr. Lighter sure works Fuel hard…" Lucas commented as he finished his meal.

"It's to motivate the other workers." Flint explained. "Lighter can't show bias to the people working under him, or they'll start to slack off. His son included."

"Huh. Fuel doesn't seem like the slacking type…" Kumatora said. "Anyway, I'm gonna head out too. It's a long walk to Osohe."

"Why not just have a house built for yourself here?" Flint asked. "It would save you some trouble."

Kumatora shrugged and replied, "Someone has to keep the ghosts in check. Later guys." And with that, she took her leave as well.

Lucas watched as she exited. "Hm. As for me, I think I'll go to the hot spring."

Flint turned to his son. "After you do the dishes."

Lucas cursed inwardly, hoping to get out of the task; while he was a more polite and obedient child than most, he hated doing chores just like anyone else.

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A contented sigh escaped Lucas' lips as he lowered all but his own head into the warm waters of the hot spring in the forest north of Tazmily. He was really starting to miss this steamy, soothing water; between training with his father, sparring with Fuel and Kumatora and helping out with the construction, he didn't get to enjoy this simple pleasure very often anymore. He only got here once a month if he was lucky. It was certainly nothing like when he traveled with Kumatora, Duster and Boney, where they had come across and used hot springs like these frequently to relax and refresh themselves.

As he remembered those brief moments of peace in their journey, the memories of those journeys started to resurface. They had braved snow, lava and the ocean. They had fought through machines, chimeras and an entire army. They had overthrown an evil dictator bent on the destruction of the world, and released a mythical beast in the hopes that it would restore the world to a peaceful state. Lucas, Kumatora, Duster and Boney had faced almost insurmountable odds to save the world… and he still wondered how he survived it all.

It had taken them all some time to get used to this peace… they didn't see each other too much anymore. Lucas himself was usually training or helping with the construction, Duster was only able to get out of the house when his limp wasn't bothering him, and Kumatora was at Osohe Castle most of the time. He was starting to miss them, especially Kumatora. When he thought about it, most of his adventures -- not counting his dog -- were ones that he had with her. He'd only met her briefly in the forest when he called some Dragos to save her and Wes from the Pig Masks, and he saw her again as a waitress at Club Titiboo when they were both searching for Duster. She had definitely surprised him then… and he had to admit that she looked cute in that waitress outfit…

Lucas blinked quickly, blushing; where had _that_ thought come from? He'd never thought of Kumatora as "cute" before… and to him, she looked just fine without the waitress outfit… his face got redder; that had came out totally wrong. He shook his head and groaned in frustration. "Why am I suddenly thinking this out of the blue?" he questioned himself. Inwardly, he prayed for something to get him out of this confusing train of thought.

That distraction came in the form of a loud noise. He turned his head in its direction, hearing leaves and tree branches rustling; something was coming through the branches, _fast_. Within a moment, the source of the noise burst through the trees, planting itself into the ground just a couple of inches away from Lucas' skull. He yelped in surprise, pushing off of the edge of the hot spring to get away from it. This made him remember another commonplace factor in his journeys: the feeling of anxiety.

As he tried to slow his heartbeat by taking deep breaths, he looked at the thing that had came through the tree branches. It was still dusk, so he could still see clearly enough; it looked like a wooden arrow, the kind that would be typically fired from a bow. He noticed something white dangling from the back of it. Curious but wary, he slowly swam over to it and pulled the arrow out of the ground so he could reach the white object… it was an envelope. It seems that someone was trying to send him a message. He took the envelope and tore it open, then began to silently read it.

_I've been watching you. Watching you for a long time now, since you realized your ability to use PSI from one of the Magypsies. You have overcome your fears and inhibitions to try and save the world. But I am here to warn you that this peace that you have achieved is not going to last for much longer. Meet me at the former needle site of Osohe Castle tomorrow morning. Come alone._

Lucas looked at the letter with an indifferent expression. There was no signature on the letter… and what did he mean by saying that "peace won't last for much longer?" And that he had to come alone… he didn't like this. But… something in his gut told him that it would be best to follow the anonymous writer's advice; he didn't know why, he just… knew. Just like he somehow knew that something bad was going to happen soon.

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**A/N:** And here's where I start to put the actual meat into the story. I personally like how the fighting scene came out. R&R, people!


	3. Chapter 2: Eight Melodies

**A/N:** Next chapter! Lucas follows the letter's instructions, and finds much more than he bargained for...

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Chapter 2: Eight Melodies

Lucas hadn't gotten much sleep last night. His mind had been on what the letter had said about "peace coming to an end." He was constantly wondering how that would happen… it was true that he had been worried about chimera attacks, like Kumatora had suggested way back when he pulled the final needle. However, the chimeras were purely territorial; they only attacked things that didn't belong in their living space, and this didn't include Tazmily, so they kept away. And there hadn't been a single crime committed since New Pork City was evacuated, much to his surprise; he thought at least one or two Pig Masks would have gone insane over the loss of their leader, but somehow they all had managed to adjust.

Thus there were only two hours last night when the question "What's going to happen?" didn't occupy Lucas' thoughts, as was evidenced by his father having to speak loudly into his ear to wake him up the following morning. With bags under his eyes and his ears ringing, he was certainly in no condition to rise or shine, but knew that he had no choice. "Unhh... not so loud..." he responded with a slurred voice.

Flint let out a sigh. "I was beginning to think something was wrong with you." he said. "How much sleep did you get last night?"

Lucas groaned, his eyes still closed as he rubbed them. "Not much…" he murmured.

Flint had put two and two together and asked, "Something on your mind?"

Lucas sat up, shaking his head as his eyes opened slightly to look at his father. "How did you know?"

"No noise to keep you awake, it doesn't look like anything is wrong with your bed and I know you're not sick. The only thing left is if your mind is stuck on something." Flint explained.

"…Oh." Lucas replied simply. He probably would've been impressed by his father's logic if he weren't half-asleep.

"So what's the problem?" Flint asked.

Lucas groaned as he rubbed his head tried to think, discovering that he had bed hair yet again. This was starting to get old. "Uhh…" He looked around for a moment, and his eyes found the note that he had received last night. "H-here it is." He grabbed the note and handed it to his father.

Flint began to read the note, slightly confused as to why reading something would rob his son of his sleep. Once he read it however, he began to understand, but he wasn't convinced. "There haven't been any disasters in the last six months… this seems like someone's idea of a prank to me." he told his son. "Although… if it is true, then what could he mean?"

"That's what I've been wondering all night." Lucas told him, getting to his feet and walking over to his drawers, opening them up and pulling out his usual style of clothing.

"But it concerns me that the sender would want you to come alone." Flint continued. "It might be a trap."

Lucas tucked his clothes under his arm and made his way to the shower. "Then I'll have to arm myself. And it's at Osohe, so Kumatora will be there if something happens."

Flint put a hand to his chin, stroking his light beard. "That is true… but still, you should be careful."

"I will, Dad."

--------------------

Even in the daytime, Osohe Castle seemed as dismal as always. Then again it's only residents -- aside from Kumatora herself -- were all ghosts, so that wasn't too surprising. The gate to the castle was down, so Lucas casually walked inside, fully awake after he had his shower. His brother's sword was strapped to his waist just in case something did go awry, but he still had the gut feeling that his cause for being here was justified.

"Damnit guys, where did you all go!?" came a voice from beyond the castle's main door. Lucas recognized it as Kumatora's; curious, he used the old-style doorknob to knock on the door. It slightly opened up a moment later with Kumatora standing on the other side. "Oh, hey Lucas."

"Uhh, hi." Lucas responded timidly. "I heard you yelling… do you have visitors?"

"Please, the only ones that come here are you and Duster." Kumatora replied flatly. "No, I'm wondering where all the ghosts went off to. I'm used to them partying in the common room like they do every day, but now it's like they're gone from the face of the earth."

"All of them?" Lucas asked. Kumatora nodded. "Wow, that _is_ weird, even for those guys… but I think I might know why." Lucas said, pulling the note from last night out of his pocket.

Kumatora was immediately curious, grabbing the note from his hand and reading it over. "Wow, this guy's got some nerve, planning some super-secret meeting on my home turf… but why would all the ghosts just disappear because of this?"

Lucas shrugged. "Maybe he told them to?"

"They don't even listen to _me_ half the time." Kumatora deadpanned. "He'd either have to be really powerful or scare their sheets off."

"Well anyway, he said he wanted to meet me in the courtyard, where the needle was." Lucas reminded her.

Kumatora put a hand on her chin, thinking for a moment. She then opened the door fully to allow Lucas passage. "Alright, but I'll be keeping an eye out. Something about this seems pretty cheesy…" she said. Lucas had to agree.

--------------------

Lucas opened the doorway to the castle courtyard. This was the only part of the castle grounds that still had life in it, it seemed; the grass and other plant life in the area was lush with bright and dark greens. In the center of the courtyard was the place where the Dark Dragon Needle rested, still spewing out small puffs of purple gas. Walking over to the small hole in the ground, he could still feel a strong power emanating from it. The events of when he pulled the final needle played in his mind again. Claus had pulled some of the needles before he did, the one in this courtyard included.

_"So you came…"_

Lucas gasped, drawing the Thunder Sword on instinct; the voice he heard… it was young, like a child's, but he could actually _feel_ the power behind it. Something strong was nearby, he knew. His eyes frantically scanned the courtyard, but there was nowhere to hide in the wide open space; he saw no one. He then looked up to the tower balcony, but the only person he saw up there was Kumatora, who was looking down at him with a puzzled expression. "Hey, Kumatora! Do you see anyone else down here!?" he called out to her.

"No, I just see you!" Kumatora called back. Though her curiousity had been piqued by Lucas' startled reaction, so she began to focus her PSI, trying to feel for any other form of life in the courtyard… but she felt nothing. Something wasn't right.

_"Don't bother looking, I'm not actually in the courtyard. I'm speaking to you through your mind."_

Lucas froze in place in realization. "You're… psychic!?"

"Lucas, what's going on down there!? I just see you talking to yourself, and I can't sense anyone either!" Kumatora yelled to him.

Lucas looked up at her and called back, "The guy is psychic! He's using telepathy to talk to me!"

Kumatora was taken aback. "Telepathy… even I haven't mastered that yet." she said to herself. But if he was psychic, then shouldn't she be able to sense his power or at least hear what he was saying by focusing her own PSI? Someone strong enough to use telepathy should stick out like a sore thumb to her… and yet, she couldn't sense any life other than herself and Lucas, let alone pick up on any of the words the intruder was saying to him. "Lucas, be careful! Whoever is talking to you is really strong!" she warned.

Lucas didn't have to be told that, considering what he'd felt earlier. "Who are you!? What do you want!?"

_"I can't tell you who I am, not yet. But I can tell you that Nowhere Island is in deep trouble."_

"In trouble from what?" Lucas inquired.

_"A great evil that was supposed to be destroyed centuries ago. An evil so strong, it will destroy what's left of mankind if it isn't stopped. And you, Lucas, are the only one who can stop it."_

Lucas blinked. "And what can I do?"

_"The sword you're carrying."_

He glanced down at his sword. "My brother's sword?"

_"Yes. Drive it into the needle hole in front of you."_

Lucas looked at the hole where the Dark Dragon Needle his brother pulled once rested, and then back at his sword. "I… what?"

_"Drive the sword into that hole, and absorb the power there."_

Lucas looked down at Claus' sword, then at the hole. The power coming from it was strong… could the sword even handle it? "What's up? What did he say?" Kumatora called down, not having any idea what was going on.

"He wants me to put Claus' sword into this needle hole!" Lucas informed her. "Something about absorbing its power! Should I give it a try?"

"Well…" Kumatora muttered, unsure of what he meant. She then shouted down to him, "Nothing ventured, nothing gained I guess! But be careful!"

"Yeah… r-right." Lucas said at normal volume, raising the sword and pointing it at the hole. "Here goes!" he shouted out, impaling the Thunder Sword into the needle hole. He could feel something trying to push against it; he pushed back, and he and Kumatora were blinded by a bright light.

"LUCAS!" she cried out to him, expecting the worst. She could feel waves of energy erupting from down below her so strong that they threatened to knock her off her feet.

Down in the light, Lucas still had the Thunder Sword pressed into the hole. The force trying to push it out was so strong. "I… I can't hold it!"

_"You have to! Don't give up, concentrate!"_

Lucas felt like he was going to be blown off of his feet if he either let go of the sword or stopped pushing it down, so at least for the sake of his health, he didn't give up. He put all of the strength he had into keeping the sword in place, pushing against the violent force. He gasped as the sword suddenly sunk deeper into the hole.

For a moment, it looked like time had stopped. Kumatora noticed that the waves of energy weren't blowing anymore and opened her eyes… and was hardly able to believe what she saw. She could _see_ the waves in the form of long, cloth-like strands made up of a shimmering rainbow-coloured light, floating in a shower of sparkles. They were frozen in mid-air above and all around the courtyard... "beautiful" was the only word she could think of to describe this sight. She heard something… it sounded like... some kind of musical instrument. Living with a bunch of partying ghosts, she had unwittingly developed an ear for music, but she couldn't identify the instrment nor pinpoint the source. But she could hear soft, almost heavenly musical notes playing; nine notes in succession, before cutting off at the end… but it only seemed like one part of a whole song. Before she had the chance to ponder this, the strands of energy suddenly began to move again, but this time they weren't blowing like wind. They were flowing like streams, and this time they all converged on one place: Lucas' body.

Lucas jolted upright at the feeling of the energy waves piercing into his skin, expecting to feel pain… but he didn't. In the midst of his anxiety, he looked down to see the strands of energy harmlessly being absorbed into his body. "Wh… what's… happening to me?" he asked fearfully. Then when the last strand entered his body, he collapsed to his knees, a wave of exhaustion passing over him ever so briefly before a calm and soothing sensation took him over. It made him feel... refreshed.

"Lucas, are you alright!?" Kumatora called down to him.

"I… I'm fine!" Lucas said, somewhat unable to believe his own words. "I feel great, actually! Like I just came out of an Instant Revitalizing Device!" he told her. "Hey… did you hear music while I was doing that?"

"Yeah!" Kumatora said. "But I don't know where it came from!"

_"That was one of the eight melodies. Back in the past, a great hero went to eight sanctuaries to unlock his true power. At each sanctuary, he heard a different part of a song. In case a great evil rose again, pieces of those sanctuaries were preserved in the ground beneath the needles."_

Lucas pulled his brother's sword out of the hole -- which was no longer leaking out the purple gas -- as he listened. His eyes widened in realization. "Wait… are you saying that the Dragon was 'a great evil!?'" he shouted.

_"You'll see when the time comes. For now, collect the power from the other six needle holes. Once you do, I'll show you where the final piece of sanctuary power is. Only when you get them all will you be strong enough to defeat the evil. You're the only one who can do it, Lucas. Goodbye… for now."_

Lucas got to his feet, confused and concerned. "Wait!" he shouted. But it was too late; the boy's voice was gone. He couldn't feel his power in his mind anymore.

"Lucas, what happened? Did he sever the connection?" Kumatora asked.

"Looks like it… I can't feel him anymore." Lucas replied.

--------------------

"So let me see if I've got this straight. This kid told you that some kind of 'great evil' has risen again, and parts of these 'eight sanctuaries' are hidden in the needle holes, waiting for someone to collect their power?" Kumatora reiterated. Lucas and herself were in the common room discussing the events that had just taken place in the courtyard.

"Yeah… and he said he'd show me where the eighth sanctuary piece is once I find the other six." Lucas finished.

Kumatora crossed her arms. "Well, this is just great… and you think the Dragon is that evil?"

Lucas looked down at his feet. "I don't know, he only said 'you'll see when the time comes.'"

"Sounds like he knows more than he's letting on." Kumatora scoffed. "I don't like this, Lucas. It could be a trick."

"I know…" Lucas sighed. "But… if the Dragon really is a great evil, then I have to stop it. I can't let Tazmily be destroyed because of a mistake I made."

Kumatora looked at him sternly; while it was likely that it was a trick, the chance that Nowhere Island really was in danger couldn't be overlooked. "Then we need to get to the other needle holes." Kumatora reminded him.

Lucas looked up at her. "You're coming too?"

Kumatora smiled broadly and said, "Sure! You didn't think I'd let you do this alone, did you?"

At hearing her answer, Lucas' face lit up. "Oh, thank you!"

She chuckled, ruffling up Lucas' hair with her hand. "No sweat, Lucas. What're friends for? Besides, I'm not gonna let Nowhere Island get wrecked after everything we went through."

Lucas smiled; he knew how lucky he was to have a friend like her. "I'll have to go tell my Dad about this… I doubt he's going to like it."

Kumatora's face fell into a frown. "Neither will a lot of people… I think we'd better keep the townspeople from finding out." she suggested. Lucas nodded in agreement, not wanting to be blamed for potentially releasing the bane of mankind or throwing Tazmily's new population into mass panic. He wasn't sure what was going to happen if someone did find out about this, or what would become of him if he did get all of the sanctuary power, or... if he found himself face-to-face with this "great evil."

There were only two things he did know for sure: that this new adventure would be much tougher than the last, and that he wasn't going to like it.

* * *

**A/N:** And so the plot thickens. Just what kind of new enemy will Lucas and Kumatora face? R&R!


	4. Chapter 3: Chimera Frenzy

**A/N:** Sorry this chapter took so long! I've been tied up with a lot of stuff, mostly real-life stuff. But I'm finally able to continue with the story. This chapter includes the first real conflict... enjoy!

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_Chapter 3: Chimera Frenzy_

Since the construction began, walking between Tazmily City and Osohe Castle didn't seem to be as much of a chore anymore… at least, to the naked eye. The city had gotten big enough to extend right up to the graveyard and into part of the forest -- which the Chimeras didn't mind parting with, it seemed -- though Lucas knew it didn't change the location of his own house. It was still a long walk to him.

But nonetheless, entering the new and bigger city was somewhat exhilarating to him. He didn't know why… he'd seen a big and high-tech city before in the form of New Pork City, though perhaps he never had the chance to admire it because he was on a mission then. All of the wondrous man-made structures he'd seen in his adventures, all of the technological marvels… he knew they were the property of Porky and served some vile purpose. But now that Porky was gone, sealed away in the impenetrable Absolutely Safe Capsule, his once-destructive creations were being used for a greater purpose.

"Man, I still can't believe this is almost done…" Lucas said to express his awe. Most of the houses he saw around here were already able to be moved into, only waiting for a nice paint job. And the houses he saw that _were_ still being built -- right at this moment, no less -- were nearly finished.

"Yeah, I never thought Pigmasks were good for anything until now." Kumatora sneered. "They've really cleaned up their act."

"Well, they had a bad leader." Lucas reminded her. He remembered when they sealed him away underground, how Dr. Andonuts had effectively tricked Porky into entering the capsule with the knowledge that it would never release him. "I still wonder if he deserved it… being trapped forever, never passing on." He looked up at Kumatora as they walked further into the city. "What do you think, Kumatora?" he asked.

She thought about it for a moment, then shrugged. "It's probably better that he's trapped. Take it from someone who knows; the dead do things just as bad as the living." Kumatora answered.

Lucas grunted. "I guess you're right… I wonder what made him like that, though? He said it himself that he still had the mind of a child…"

"A spoiled, selfish brat of a child." Kumatora reminded him. "How he managed to become the ruler of an empire is beyond me, though… I'm willing to bet the story behind that is as retarded as he is."

"I know, but… still, he was a kid…" Lucas repeated. "I just don't feel right doing something like that to someone younger than me… if it were someone older and more twisted and evil, maybe. But Porky just strikes me as someone who fell in with the wrong crowd…"

At hearing his opinion, Kumatora had no real rebuttal. "I see your point… but whatever the case, he still had to be stopped. He could've brought the world to an end."

That was definitely true, Porky had every intent to destroy the world with the Dragon of Darkness and had the power and resources to do so. And in stopping the young-minded tyrant, he might have unleashed something potentially worse. Lucas let out a heavy sigh. "Being a hero isn't easy…"

Kumatora shook her head. "Nope."

The two walked on in silence from that point on, until they were mid-way to the town square. However, they were stopped by the sudden, horrible wailing of what seemed to be a siren. A very _loud_ siren. Lucas and Kumatora both covered their ears, groaning in obvious discomfort along with the rest of the townspeople around them. "What is that sound!?" Lucas screeched. Whatever reply Kumatora gave him was effortlessly drowned out by the siren, this he figured out when he looked at her and saw her mouth moving with no words reaching his ears. "What!?" he yelled back to Kumatora so she could repeat herself.

Their faces turned to scowls as they realized that trying to speak with each other over this horrific noise was an exercise in futility. Kumatora briefly motioned with her hand for Lucas to follow her into a nearby alleyway, then quickly put the hand back on her ear and rushed off with the boy closely following. "Jesus Christ! I think I'm deaf!" he heard her complain; the siren was not drowned out as much as they had hoped, but at least now they could hear what they were saying.

"What _is_ that!?" Lucas yelled.

"How the hell should I know!?" Kumatora yelled back. "God, it's worse that Duster's Siren Beetle in that cave! And that's saying a lot!" She then clasped her hands down onto her ears harder, growling in annoyance.

Lucas could unfortunately see the truth in her humor; while the Siren Beetle was quite loud, it could only cause mild discomfort, even when held right up to his ear. _This_ siren, on the other hand, actually made his ears hurt from a distance.

Then, as suddenly as it started, the noise seemed to have stopped. They both tried to listen for the noise with their hands still on their ears just in case, but heard nothing. They cautiously uncovered their ears to make sure, but they were then assaulted by the same siren; its volume had considerably decreased, but they could still hear it clearly over the ringing in their ears it had left behind. "Thank God, I think somebody fixed the volume." Kumatora sighed with relief.

The townspeople visible from their alleyway didn't seem so content, however, running towards the source of the noise in a mob. While Lucas couldn't blame them for being angry, he hoped they didn't do anything rash. He then noticed that the siren was dying down further… and that the townspeople weren't shouting curses, but they were screaming. As if they were running from something… what could they be running from? He looked up at Kumatora, who returned the glance with equal confusion and a shrug.

A roar got their attention. They looked out at the alleyway to see that there were no longer people running down the street in a panic, but a pack of wild animals. And they didn't look like normal animals, more like… combinations of them.

A wave of fear swept over them both; they were now looking at a mob of rabid Chimeras. "Kumatora… am I seeing things?" Lucas asked.

"We wish…" Kumatora responded grimly. A Chimera suddenly turned into the alleyway; it had the body of a blue fish, the feet of a chicken and the head of a Dalmatian dog. It was a Dogfish, a Chimera that was only supposed to live near the water. This Dogfish looked angry, barking loudly as it ran towards them. It then lunged at Kumatora, who was ready; she sent her fist flying forwards and into the Chimera's skull, knocking it back. It rolled once before skidding across the ground on its feet, growling and barking angrily.

The Dogfish lunged at her again. This time it was Lucas who took the offensive, drawing his brother's sword and delivering a solid blow to the Chimera's head before it reached its target. A flurry of sparks erupted from the point of impact, briefly reminding him that his sword was not only electrically-charged, but that this breed of Chimera was heavily averse to electricity. This time when the Dogfish fell, it didn't get back up, its body twitching from electrocution.

Her brief rush of adrenaline ending, Kumatora hissed and shook around the fist she had used to knock the Dogfish away. "Damnit, I'dve brought my gloves if I knew we'd be fighting!" she complained.

Lucas looked down at the spasming Chimera with a sense of pity. "What's happening? Why are the Chimeras suddenly attacking our town?" he wondered.

"Maybe that sound is driving them nuts." Kumatora theorized, trying to listen for the siren again. It was nullified slightly by the screams of the townspeople and the barking and roars of the Chimeras, but definitely still present. "And if that's it, then why the hell hasn't anyone shut it off?"

A good question, but beside the point at the moment. "We'll worry about that later, right now we have to protect the people!" Lucas reminded her as he dashed out of the alleyway with his sword at the ready. Kumatora rushed alongside him, not really enthusiastic about fighting without her gloves, but her hands would heal.

The street they were running down was in a panic. Townspeople were running every which way in seek of shelter while avoiding Chimeras, while a handful of them were bravely taking up arms using whatever was light enough to lift. Unfortunately, since these people had next-to-no experience with fighting the creatures, it was a losing battle. As Lucas and Kumatora approached a rampaging Cattlesnake that was pursuing a young woman, however, the beast turned around with no hesitation whatsoever and charged at them instead. They barely had time to leap out of the way of the surprise attack, and then retaliated with a tag team attack.

"PK Love!" "PK Fire!"

The massive Chimera was actually blown off of the ground before landing on its side, too damaged to move. They continued on. The Cattlesnake's behaviour was mimicked by every Chimera that they came within a few feet of; while these sudden attacks saved Lucas and Kumatora the trouble of chasing the things around, it was quickly taking its toll. In past conflicts they had the chance to rest and recover after each fight, but with the townspeople in danger and enemies lunging at them at every opportunity, they did not have that advantage. They were forced to fight through every Chimera occupying the street until they reached the town square… and the source of the noise.

The siren sound seemed to be coming from a… what _was_ it? It was sticking out from the well, its figure silhouetted by the roof above the hole. All they would make out was a red glow atop a thin pole, constantly twirling around as it emitted the disturbing noise. "What the hell is that?" Kumatora asked.

As if cued, the sound stopped completely and the… thing stopped twirling, the red glow now pointed directly at them. All was silent; the Chimeras had stopped running wild and looked around slowly, seemingly confused. This left the humans in the area puzzled. A new noise purged the quiet, a series of beeps and buzzes. They were coming from the red glow, which was still pointed at Lucas and Kumatora. After a monotone series of beeps, the thing's full form erupted out of the well, destroying it and sending pieces of debris flying everywhere.

It looked a lot like something that could be best described as a whip-stitch of flesh and metal, coiled around each other like brain matter with the matching colours; the only difference was the red glow, which seemed to be a single eye that served as a relatively small head. Its body, arms and legs were thin and almost very long with the total combined height of three average people, and its hands and feet were large; they each had a set of five fingers or toes, long and razor-sharp.

"Whoa…" Lucas and Kumatora both breathed out at once. This was unlike any creature they'd seen before, organic or robotic. The thing lurched its head up high, giving three quick rings of its siren before dashing at the duo without warning; and due to its long legs, it could run fairly fast. They jumped backward as it tried to stomp them, its claw-like foot leaving an impression in the pavement. Its right claw swung down at Kumatora, which she caught by its palm, but then she gasped in surprise at how strong it was. But rather than try to outmuscle her – something that she thought it actually _could've_ done – it swung its other claw at her mid-section. Having to fight against being crushed by its right hand left her defenseless of her own accord.

So Lucas decided to bail her out, tackling her out from under its right hand just in time to dodge its left. They rolled along the ground for a moment before springing back up to their feet; she didn't even get the chance to thank him, as the fusion of flesh and machinery leapt into the air with the intent of goring them with its sharp toes. They leapt in opposite directions, the foe getting the sharp appendages impaled in the ground. Lucas saw this as a chance to attack, dashing with his sword, but a surprise lashing-out from its claws knocked him away hard. "Lucas!" Kumatora shouted in alarm, and the townspeople who were looking on gasped in horror.

She retaliated in his stead. "PK FREEZE!" she called out, thrusting her palms forward with a bright-blue glow. A blast of air so cold that it was visible shot out of her hands towards the mysterious creature. What she had never expected to see, however, was a collection of pale-blue diamond-like shapes to surround its entire body like a shield. An unfamiliar wave of horror flowed through her as she recognized what it was: PK Psycho-Counter, a defensive PSI that lessens the damage of a PSI-based attack and sends its full force back at the attacker. She had no time to prepare before her own torrent of frigid air was blown back towards her, being struck by the redirected attack dead-on. She yelped as pain tore through her, all but her head now encased in a block of ice. A curse made its way through her clattering teeth at her misfortune, as with her hands frozen and her head currently in a state of brain-freeze, she couldn't cook up any form of PK Fire to get out of her frosty prison. To make matters worse, the robotic enemy didn't seem at all fazed from what was left of the icy attack; in fact, the frost that had accumulated on its exterior was already melting off, revealing that it had suffered no damage at all.

"Kumatora!" Lucas cried out. The foe was quick to return the failed attack as its shield of deep-blue diamonds faded away, ready to crush Kumatora under its foot. He thrust his hands out towards her and shouted, "PK Counter!" A shield composed of yellow octagon-shapes surrounded Kumatora before its foot crashed down on her. The physically-oriented Counter shield sparked and crackled before repelling the monster's foot, sending it flying back a couple of feet before it landed on its back with a tremor. The PK Counter's recoil then made itself known, the ice encasing Kumatora cracking and shattering. She fell to her knees, her arms wrapping around herself to try and get warm as she felt an odd combination of pain and numbing. Lucas was quick to come to her aid. "PK Healing." he said, a warm, light-blue glow coming from his hand. The glow spread to Kumatora, and she almost immediately felt warmed up. "PK Lifeup." The blue glow was replaced with a green one, and she felt her strength returned. She quickly got to her feet.

"Thanks…" Kumatora thanked him before they turned their heads to the strange monster, which was getting up. "What kind of robot can use PSI!? It's not possible! What _is_ this monster!?"

As the creature got back onto its feet, Lucas took the chance to cast another, "PK Counter!" This time, Lucas made a shield over his own body while repairing Kumatora's. "If PSI won't work, then we need protection from its physical attacks!"

"Yeah, good thinking!" Kumatora applauded. They then dashed at the creature with more confidence now that they were more protected against its attacks. Again, however, it surprised them; rather than try to swat at or crush them, it fired a bright-red beam out of its eye. They dashed to the side, knowing full well that neither Counter or Psycho-Counter had an effect on attacks like lasers. "Oh, come on!" Kumatora complained; it was as if this foe knew every way to counter their fighting styles. Regardless though, the laser was less of a threat than getting crushed like a pancake or getting ripped to shreds by those razor-sharp claws. "I've got an idea! Draw its attention!" she called out to Lucas.

"Okay!" he called back, rushing up to the enemy and slashing his sword at its foot. It left a cut and a scorch mark on its flesh-and-metal exterior, and this was enough to divert the monster's attention. It jumped backward, firing a volley of beams at him whilst airborne, but Lucas was agile enough to dodge each one. Kumatora took advantage of this distraction and leapt up the enemy's leg, slamming her fist into its thin midsection. She didn't break her fist thanks to having the sense to aim for a flesh-covered spot, but it was still surprisingly tough and still hurt like she'd punched a brick wall. Nonetheless, it got the desired effect; the enemy fell down. "Go for its head!" she shouted to Lucas.

Lucas shouted a war cry as he ran for the new target, raising his sword and jumping into the air. He jammed it as hard as he could into the red glass of its eye. The robot's aversion to high voltage did the rest, electricity coursing through its entire body and causing its limbs to twitch and spasm violently. Eventually, it began to break down and explode all over. Lucas leapt away before the eye was blown away, soaring up into the air and crashing down with the sound of shattering glass. The red glow in its damaged eye flickered for a moment before dimming and going out completely. The battle was won.

Lucas and Kumatora let out relieved sighs as they were cheered on by the surrounding townspeople. Looking around, they saw that the Chimeras that were present were turning around and heading for the exits of the town. It looked like the danger was over for the day. "Well! That was… exhilarating." Kumatora joked. She was then reminded of the searing pain in her hand, rubbing her sore knuckles and making a mental note from now on to bring her fighting gloves wherever she went.

As townspeople rushed over to the two heroes, Lucas looked at the remains of the strange machine. "What _was_ this thing?" he wondered, picking up its dead and shattered eye.

"Well, that was something to see!" came a familiar voice from the crowd. Lucas and Kumatora turned to it to see an old man in a white lab coat pushing his way through the masses. The white hair that was left on his balding head was done up into a point on either side of it, and it had a white moustache. He has a pair of small, circular glasses obscuring his eyes from view.

"Dr. Andonuts!" Lucas exclaimed.

"Hey! Long time no see, Doc." Kumatora greeted.

"Likewise, Princess." Dr. Andonuts replied. "But what kind of malevolent machine is this, hm? I've never seen robots capable of PSI before… except for…" he stopped himself. He cleared his throat and said, "Nevermind, just reminiscing. I want to examine this machine and see if I can figure out what it was. Lucas, would you?"

"O-oh, sure." Lucas complied, handing the doctor the broken eye.

"Thank you so much." Andonuts thanked him before wandering off towards the scrap of the robot's body.

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After Lucas and Kumatora were finished receiving the thanks and praise of the townspeople, they continued on their way to his home. At the way down to this house, they encountered Flint, who had a rare smirk on his face. "I saw how you handled that creature. You two have become strong."

Kumatora winked and said, "Ehh, nothing we haven't done already, right Lucas?" She messed up his hair with her hand, much to the boy's protest. She then remembered the reason why they were coming here in the first place. "Oh yeah… speaking of that… it looks like we've got ourselves tangled up in another adventure."

Flint's smirk faded, replaced by a raised eyebrow. "How so?"

Lucas made an uncomfortable whimper. "I'm not sure, but… it has to do with where me and Claus pulled out the needles… and maybe the Dragon, too…"

Flint was silent for a moment, before letting out a small sigh. "Tell me everything you know."

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**A/N:** Rest assured, things aren't gonna stay calm for very long. Just wait until you see what Dr. Andonuts discovers... R&R!


	5. Chapter 4: Evil Machine

**A/N:** Oh Lord, I'm sorry this took so long. My computer was virused recently and I had to clean it up... I was fortunate enough not to lose my work, though, so here's chapter 4!

_

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_Chapter 4: Evil Machine_

_…………cas……_

_………………_

_……man… you…… stop…_

_……God…_

_………………………………………………kill……_

--------------------

The next thing Lucas knew, he was awake and not in the best condition. His head was absolutely throbbing, and he was dizzy and disoriented; it hurt just to open his eyes, so he kept them shut and remained as he was for a moment. He could tell there was light… why was there light in the middle of the night? He then reached to push himself up… only to notice that he had to reach much further down to reach the surface of his bed than he should have. By now he was alert enough to realize that he wasn't laying down, but sitting up, sweating and breathing hard.

He groaned in obvious discomfort; he felt like he'd ran a marathon at full speed without stopping, and the headache on top of it didn't help. He let out a more aggravated groan when he realized that a headache meant that his PSI would either do little, or nothing at all, meaning that he couldn't cure his fatigue. So he did the only sensible thing: lay back down. At least he was still in his bed. "Ughhh…"

"Good morning, sleepyhead!" said a female voice. Kumatora was in his house this late?

"M… morning?" Lucas mumbled. How could it be morning? He was sure he was only out for a few minutes… "Ohh, my head…" he mumbled, flipping onto his stomach and burying his head in his pillow in the hopes that it was cool. Luck was not on his side however, so he flipped the pillow and set his head down on it then.

Kumatora was standing beside his bed, looking at him with skepticism and slight amusement. "Man Lucas, did you get drunk last night?"

"Rrmmff… that's nort ffurnny…" The words were muffled through the pillow, but still intelligible.

"I wasn't joking." Kumatora deadpanned. "You sure look like you have a hangover."

"He wasn't drunk, Kumatora." Flint responded from afar, working on Lucas' breakfast. Kumatora turned to look at him. "He was with me all night working on the ranch, and he's smart enough to stay away from alcohol."

Kumatora groaned. "Lucas, don't tell me you just randomly woke up sick…" she said as she turned to face the boy again, who was now laying face-up and groaning while he held his hot forehead. She sighed and shook her head before reaching her hand to that spot, gently pushing Lucas' own hand out of the way. He was too out of whack to wonder or even care about what she was doing. "PK Healing. Rise and shine kid, we've got a lot of work to do." Her hand was enveloped in a sky-blue glow.

Lucas' headache had quickly melted away, and boy was he happy about that. He opened his eyes and said, "PK Lifeup." His body was bathed in a green light, and he instantly felt energized. He sat up, and Kumatora took her hand off of his forehead. "Thanks, I needed that."

"You're welcome." Kumatora replied. "But seriously, what happened to you?"

"I… I don't know. I went straight to bed last night and… I had this weird dream." Lucas told her. "Something was speaking… but I couldn't understand most of it, it was really faint. All I heard clearly was the last word: kill… next thing I know, I'm awake with a pounding headache."

"…Wow. Creepy…" Kumatora stated.

Flint cleared his throat and interjected, "But that's all it is. Dreams and nightmares are just our imagination at work while we're asleep, you have nothing to fear from them." He set Lucas' breakfast of toast on the dinner table.

Lucas sighed. "I know, I know… but it wasn't that scary, really… I don't know why I woke up like that." he replied, throwing the covers off of him and getting his meal. "Anyway, I'm not gonna think about it. Kumatora's right, we need to find those needle holes."

"I just hope we're not going on a wild goose chase…" Kumatora said worriedly. "The guy didn't even show his face. It's hard to trust him…"

"But for all we know, he might be telling the truth." Flint told her as he took his own seat at the dinner table to eat his own toast. "If we really are in danger and Lucas is the only one who can siphon the power from the holes – which you saw for yourselves – then what choice do we have?"

"And that's why I don't like it." Kumatora replied, crossing her arms. "We could be walking right into a trap…"

Both father and son knew that she was right. Lucas had only been told about what the "Sanctuary Pieces" were and what they did; he wasn't told the most important things, how or why. The worst case scenario was that he could be dooming the world… but there was still the chance that he had caused an impending Doomsday by releasing the Dragon of Darkness anyway, so there was nothing to lose by trying, was there?

--------------------

Once Lucas had finished his breakfast and got dressed, he, Kumatora and Flint headed out. They made sure to bring Boney with them, knowing that Flint and Lucas' faithful dog not only hated being left behind, but was probably itching for some adventure. Lucas had changed the style of his clothing slightly; instead of his shirt having yellow and orange stripes, the stripes were now crimson and darker-crimson colours, just for a little bit of change. Kumatora said she liked the new style.

"AAAH!" rang a familiar voice, followed by the sound of glass shattering and something smashing against the floor hard. Everyone turned their heads towards the lab of Dr. Andonuts, which was a couple of buildings down the street from them. It was a simple, pure-white building with two floors not including the roof.

"What the hell was that?" Kumatora wondered. As if on cue, the front door to the laboratory burst open. Out tumbled the doctor, growling and muttering unintelligible curses as he wrestled with… something. Lucas and Kumatora immediately recognized it as the same kind of half-robotic creature that had attacked them yesterday… but it was considerably smaller than the one previous. Its arms and legs were about a foot and a half in length, all spanning out of its eye that served as both its head and its body. "Oh, c'mon! Not again!" Kumatora groaned.

Like its predecessor, the small robotic creature was distracted by Lucas and Kumatora's arrival. Dr. Andonuts took this moment to throw the thing off of him. Rather than take revenge on him however, it started clambering towards Lucas and company. Kumatora didn't even give it time to attack, jumping from where she was standing and using her foot to crush its eye against the ground. Some popping and sizzling sounds could be heard coming from its spasming form before it stopped moving entirely. The doctor let out a sigh of relief. "Thank you!"

His moment of peace was disturbed by Kumatora's rage as she kicked the trashed robot away. "Damnit, doc! We went through a lot of trouble to wreck that thing, and you turn it back on!?" she scolded.

Dr. Andonuts was quick to retort. "Don't blame me! I just set a piece of the thing beside one of my computers, and the next thing I know, it devours that computer and transforms into _that_!" he explained.

"Well, you should've made sure it was off!" Kumatora argued.

"I did! I was completely out power after Lucas short-circuited it!" Dr. Andonuts fired back.

Lucas and Flint could only watch as the fired up princess and doctor exchanged words. Since Lucas wisely opted not to get involved in matters like these, it was his father who interrupted. "Enough, both of you! The robot was destroyed, no one was harmed, and that's all that matters."

Kumatora and Dr. Andonuts both looked at Flint for a moment, then at each other. The latter coughed and said, "A-anyway, I was about to come looking for you two psychics before the thing came back to life. I took a look at its memory, and… well, come and see." he told them, motioning the group into the lab before heading in himself.

Lucas and Kumatora looked at each other, wondering what the doctor had found.

--------------------

Lucas, Kumatora, Flint and Boney were crowded around a computer terminal that Dr. Andonuts was operating. Beside it was the cracked eye of the robot that they fought yesterday, trapped in a glass jar with a trio of wires plugged into it. "Wait, what the hell? I thought I just stomped on that eye!" Kumatora said in disbelief.

"No, you stepped on an entirely different one." Dr. Andonuts explained. "The piece of robot you destroyed seemed to grow its own eye when it converted my computer into parts for itself."

Now Kumatora was more confused. "Uhh… what?"

Lucas thought for a moment. "I think he means it ate his computer to grow bigger?"

"Well… something like that, yes." Dr. Andonuts answered somewhat irritably.

"Uhh… that makes sense… I guess." Kumatora said, just leaving at that before she gave herself a headache. "So what're we supposed to be looking at, doc?" Kumatora asked.

"This…" Dr. Andonuts replied, typing a few keystrokes. A slight surge of electricity jolted through the wires, and the cracked eye sparked to life, emitting a dull-red glow. At the same time, some words appeared on the screen. "Translating this thing's machine code into words wasn't easy, let me tell you."

Lucas began to read it aloud. "Reactivation complete. Scanning for life forms… complete. Human life signs detected in vicinity. Commencing elimination method 1." Lucas read off of the terminal.

As if cued, a shrill ringing began to erupt from the glass jar. Everyone covered their ears. "GODDAMNIT, NOT AGAIN!" Kumatora roared. But just as she finished speaking, the siren-like noise stopped. Carefully, everyone uncovered their ears to make sure.

More words appeared on the screen. "Exception: no compatible life forms for sound hypnosis detected." Lucas read off of the screen, confused. "What does that mean?"

"The only thing I can think of is the Chimeras." Dr. Andonuts told him. "From what I can gather, that siren was supposed to enrage all the animals nearby and have them attack the people… but not just any people."

"What do you mean?" Lucas asked.

Dr. Andonuts punched in a few more keystrokes and asked Lucas, "Charge up some PSI power in your hand. Nothing fancy, just a little bit."

Lucas looked at his hand; what was the doctor planning. "Uhh… okay… PK Love?" he muttered, a green spark forming at the tip of his index finger.

Everyone's attention was caught by the shattered robot eye now bouncing around in its jar. The screen was being bombarded with the same phrase, "PSI-CAPABLE LIFEFORM DETECTED! DESTROY!" being repeated over and over again.

"Whoa, talk about a moodswing…" Kumatora stated. Lucas crushed the spark of PK Love in his hand, putting it out, but the robot eye was still having a panic attack. Dr. Andonuts typed in a few more keystrokes, causing another electric shock to rock the jar. This time, the eye stopped moving, and the screen had been filled up with nothing but gibberish.

"Are you telling us that this machine was built to destroy PSI-users?" Lucas asked incredulously.

"I'm afraid so, Lucas." Dr. Andonuts said solemnly. "And it gets worse. After scanning its memory, I found a model number; this was the 3216th robot made for this purpose. There are a lot more of these things out there… and they're all coming from deep under Nowhere Island."

Flint spoke for the first time in this meeting. "_Under_ the island?" he repeated.

Dr. Andonuts nodded. "Yes. I don't know how or why, but it looks like the Dragon had company. These machines need to be destroyed, or there might be a repeat of what happened yesterday."

Kumatora grimaced. "That's not good…"

"Not at all." Dr. Andonuts continued. "But all hope is not lost, I've discovered a way to stop them!"

Lucas looked at the doctor with anticipation. "How?"

Dr. Andonuts cleared his throat. "From what I've seen of the robot's programming, it seems to be linked to a hive mind of some sort. Rendering all of the robots inoperable is as simple as shutting down the source beneath the island."

Kumatora blinked. "Wow… that's convenient. One of the needle holes is down in that cave. We can kill two birds with one stone!" she exclaimed.

"And I suggest you make haste in doing so." Dr. Andonuts. "I'm sure it won't take long for the source to notice that one of its robots its down. We might wind up getting attacked very soon."

That wasn't the news that Lucas wanted to hear. "But… that's bad! The city could be attacked while we're gone! It could be destroyed by the time we get back!" he wailed.

"A risk that you'll have to take, because the attacks probably won't stop unless something is done." Dr. Andonuts reminded him.

Kumatora grunted. "He's right, Lucas. We can't sit here and do nothing."

Flint cleared his throat to get everyone's attention. "Then it looks like I'll be staying behind."

Lucas looked at his father with confusion. "Dad? Why?"

Flint wore a serious expression as he spoke. "I can rally some of the townspeople together to set up a resistance. We can protect the town while you and Kumatora shut down the machines."

Lucas' eyes widened. "That's way too dangerous!"

"Mmm… I have to go with Lucas on this one." Kumatora agreed. "These machines are made to kill humans, _and_ they can use PSI to boot. A normal person wouldn't be a match for one of them, let alone a whole group."

"But what other choice do we have?" Flint asked her. Kumatora and Lucas desperately tried to think of an alternative, but could find none.

"Then we'll have to do this fast." Kumatora finally said. "We need a way to get to the needle cave and back quickly…"

"Which I just so happen to have handy!" Dr. Andonuts piped up. "If you'll follow me to the roof…"

--------------------

And so the group did as they were told, heading up the stairs to the rooftop of Dr. Andonuts' lab. There wasn't much too it, it was made of cement to be like a landing pad. There was something large in the centre of the roof, covered in a white cloth. "Behold!" Dr. Andonuts proclaimed, grabbing the white cloth and pulling it off.

Kumatora and Flint were able to hide their surprise, but Lucas was agape and Boney was barking enthusiastically. Before them stood what they could best describe as a U.F.O.; it was a sphere with several circular windows around its sides, an antennae on top of it and three legs on the bottom that kept it standing up. Its alien spacecraft-like appearance was given off by the round rim that surrounded the sphere. "Wow… what _is_ it!?" Lucas asked.

"This, Lucas, is the Sky Runner!" Dr. Andonuts informed him. "A flying machine that took me years to perfect. With it, you can soar the skies endlessly!"

"Ahh… I get it! We can use this to get to the cave!" Kumatora understood. "But… how do we fly it?"

"Oh, it's not hard at all. I had to make it simple since the Pigmask Army based their aircrafts off of its design." Dr. Andonuts explained. "Come here, I'll show you. You too, Lucas."

Kumatora and Lucas walked over to the Sky Runner with interest, though Flint stayed put, not exactly interested in this new-fangled technology. Boney barked, causing him to look down at his dog who looked at him in confusion, wondering why he wasn't checking out the flying machine. He knelt down to his dog and said, "Oh, I'm alright. I'm just not good with technology is all… and I don't want to do something wrong to the thing since it's the only way Lucas will get to the cave fast enough." Boney lolled his head to the side, then let out a bark in understanding.

Meanwhile, inside the Sky Runner, the three were crowded into the leather seats. The flying machine was definitely a tight fit for any more than the three people; one seat was at the front of the sky runner with a few terminals and a joystick, while the other two seats were positioned behind it. Lucas and Kumatora sat in these seats and watched Dr. Andonuts explain the systems. "…And this is the autopilot screen, it'll take you to any place you touch on the map… except inside places like the Dragon's cave, you'll need to fly it manually for that. But even then it's easy, just touch this control pad to move it up, down or side-to-side, and the joystick to move forward or backward."

Kumatora was only pretending to be interested, but Lucas was hanging on the doctor's every word, think of how cool it would be to fly something like this. And he would have to learn, given the circumstances; something like this would be great for getting to the needle holes around Nowhere Island… and the thought of not having to go through the ocean floor to make it to Tanetane Island appealed to him. He involuntarily shuddered at the memory of the Oxygen-Replenishing Machines… he and Kumatora promised each other never to speak of that again.

"And that's all there is to it. Simple, no?" Dr. Andonuts finished. "Alright? I'm sure you two want to shut down those menacing robots as soon as possible, so I'll leave you to it." He then began to climb out of the pilot's seat.

"W-wait, you're not coming with us?" Lucas asked, slightly worried.

"I can't, I should probably be here when your father starts rallying the townspeople. They'll need to know what they're up against, after all…" Dr. Andonuts explained.

"Oh… yeah, I see…" Lucas understood.

"The doc's just got a yellow belly if you ask me…" Kumatora muttered.

"I heard that!" the doctor roared. Kumatora grinned innocently in response as Dr. Andonuts grumbled and exited the Sky Runner.

Lucas hopped out of his seat next, headed for the exit as well. "Hey, where are you going?" Kumatora asked.

"Saying bye to Dad." Lucas replied simply, hopping back out onto the roof. He jogged over to his father, who was waiting patiently. "Well… I guess it's time to go…"

Flint raised an eyebrow. "You seem a little discouraged."

Lucas shook his head. "Yeah, it just feels so weird… getting thrust into something like this. I was expecting a little bit of trouble when I was heading out for the needle holes, but nothing like this… I'm a little worried…"

Flint crouched down by his son and put his hand on his shoulder. "Don't be, son. You're no stranger to the battlefield, and you've been preparing for this since your brother's passing. You've become so strong, and you have me, Boney, Kumatora and the rest to help you. There's no need to worry, son. I know you'll be fine and be able to protect this city."

Lucas smiled; that little pep talk was just what he needed. "Thanks, Dad."

Boney barked, trotting up beside Lucas. ("Don't forget me! I want to help you too!")

Lucas knelt down beside Boney and ruffled up his fur a little. "Of course! There's no way I'm forgetting you, Boney." he assured him. His dog barked happily in response.

Flint smiled at the two. "Well, then the doctor and I had better get the town ready. I hope we don't actually have to fight, but I'll make sure we're prepared if we have to."

Lucas nodded, standing up straight. "I do this quick, Dad. I promise." he said, turning around and walking over to the Sky Runner with Boney in tow.

Dr. Andonuts walked up to Flint. "That boy has definitely changed." he said as Lucas and Boney climbed into the airship. "He's come a long way from the timid boy I met in the Chimera Lab… he almost reminds me of…" he trailed off. Flint was about to ask what the doctor was talking about, but he was cut off when he said, "Anyway, we need to get the townspeople ready. Can you go and rally them while I figure out what to tell them?"

Flint grunted and nodded, heading towards the doorway to the inside. He turned around as he heard a noise coming from the Sky Runner; its entrance hatch had shut. It made a whirring noise as it began to rise off of the roof, its landing gear retracting into its spherical form. It moved back and forth, side to side and up and down for a moment… Flint figured that the one flying – whether it was Lucas or Kumatora he didn't know – was getting used to using the flying machine. After this was done, the Sky Runner started flying in one direction, quickly picking up speed. They were on their way. Flint turned around and continued into the laboratory, while Dr. Andonuts was still watching them fly away. When Flint began to walk down the stairs…

_"You didn't tell them?"_

The sudden voice made Dr. Andonuts jump. He quickly looked around the rooftop in search of the speaker, but saw no one there with him. Almost immediately, he realized that was happening. He sighed and replied, "We don't know if he's still alive, or if his machines are just carrying on his work. There's no need to worry them with this."

_"Not yet, but you'll have to tell them the truth sooner or later…"_

Dr. Andonuts shook his head. "I know…" he conceded. "This would be so much easier if you could just explain everything."

_"And I want to, I really do. But we have to stick to the plan. I know it's unlikely, but if he's still alive, he can't know I'm here. I can't reveal myself yet, not until Lucas gets the sanctuary powers from all the holes."_

A grim expression donned the doctor's face. "You mean _if_ he gets them all… we're doomed if he doesn't. Every part of your plan depends on Lucas' success, and if he fails…"

_"You really need to think more positively."_

"If you've been through what I have over the past few months, you'd understand…" Dr. Andonuts lamented.

_"I know… I miss them too, I miss them so much… but remember, we're doing this for them. I've seen what Lucas can do, he'll pull it off. I know it."_

Dr. Andonuts sighed as he lifted his head up to look at the Sky Runner as it flew away. "I hope so…"

* * *

**A/N:** The mysterious stranger and Dr. Andonuts seem to know each other, as well as something about what Lucas, Kumatora and Boney are facing... please Read and Review, the more reviews I get, the faster I update the story!


	6. Notice: Hiatus

What's up, people?

Yeah, I've been receiving several reviews for this story, most of them saying stuff along the lines of, "When are you going to update?" To avoid confusion, I guess I'm going to have to answer this question which I thought was obvious. So when _am_ I going to update _Of Chimeras and Ghosts_?

After I'm done writing _Snapped_.

Remember that _Of Chimeras and Ghosts_ isn't the only story I write. You see, _Snapped_ and _Of Chimeras and Ghosts_ are going to be very big stories. And possibly _The Puppet_, though definitely not as big as these. But in turn, they can't just be a bunch of non-formatted rabble or word soup; I need to put real effort into them. Doing this for three potentially _huge_ stories at the same time just isn't possible, so I'm limiting myself to one. _Snapped_ was the one I wanted to write most, so _Of Chimeras and Ghosts_ got the short end of the stick, I'm afraid.

Of course, if you still want to drop a review for the stories I have in limbo or favorite or whatever, I'm not about to stop you; in fact I encourage it, because I _will_ be working on them again… just not in the near future.

And that's the deal. I'm sorry if I offended anyone with this, but it gets rather annoying to see these "When are you updating?" reviews instead of an actual opinion on the story. _That's_ what the review feature should be used for. If you really want to ask me about the condition of a story, then write me a PM.

Aaand… serious time is over. Good-day, ladies and gentlemen.

~SL the Pyro


	7. Notice: Discontinuation and Apologies

Faithful readers who have been waiting for so long for the next chapter of this story, I thank you for your patronage. Sadly however, I'm going to have to discontinue _Of Chimeras and Ghosts_.

I'm aware that I promised I would continue this story after the first arc of _Snapped_, and I had full plans to do so… don't worry, it has nothing to do we me holding off on it for so long. The problem lies in something I've learned about the _MOTHER/Earthbound_ series storyline that has thrown everything awry. It won't be possible to explain without going in-depth into the plot of _Of Chimeras and Ghosts_, which I would never do unless I was certain it would be discontinued. And since I have decided to scrap this story, I guess I'll have to explain everything. If you don't want everything in the _MOTHER/Earthbound_ series spoiled for you, avert your gaze now and forever be left in mystery… otherwise, read on.

The main plot point in _Of Chimeras and Ghosts_ revolved around the return of the Devil's Machine on the Nowhere Islands. The story left off with Lucas and company going to explore the Dragon of Darkness' old resting place, where the pieces of those killer robots are resting. You might have theorized already that those robots were the spawn of the Devil's Machine, and you'd be right. But there's more to it than that. Why would the Dragon of Darkness be sleeping with a whole bunch of killer machines? Because the Dragon _wasn't a Dragon at all_, but was in fact the main body of the Devil's Machine. That's why legends become legends in the first place; details get messed up over so much time… especially if you go to some random island on a boat with your memories erased (a main plot point in _MOTHER 3_ that is explained near the end.) And as you might guess, the main body still houses Giygas. Still alive and kicking, planning to exact revenge on whatever is left of the human race.

But that's not the worst part. Think back to the story behind _MOTHER/Earthbound Zero_, in which Ninten, Ana, Loid and Teddy fight off Giegue's/Giygas's alien invasion for the first time. At the start of that game, it speaks of Ninten's great grandparents, George and Maria. Most people know Maria was discovered by Ninten and co. as the Queen of Magicant, a fact revealed near the end of the game. But outside of the start and end, there is very little explained about George… as far as I knew, he was never found and Ninten never spoke with him. I didn't believe he was even physically in the game at all. Thus… the main plot twist for _Of Chimeras and Ghosts_, was to have George _as the villain_, a nihilistic, crazed man having set events into motion since the start of Ninten's journey to attain ultimate power by way of Giygas and the Devil's Machine. It seemed sound at first since no one saw him…

And then I saw a full playthrough of _MOTHER/Earthbound Zero_ and realized I was a complete idiot.

George _is_ present in the game; very briefly, but still there. He appears at the top of Mount Itoi at the end of the game when you inspect his grave, and he actually _speaks _to you from beyond the grave, most definitely there and, most importantly, benevolent. The main, obscure villain I planned to use for _Of Chimeras and Ghosts_ turned out to be not so obscure or villainous after all.

That single event in the game had made everything I planned out for _Of Chimeras and Ghosts_ fall apart at my feet. I brainstormed for hours upon hours trying to think of a way to salvage it, but I just couldn't. The villain for my story needed to be a heartless, power-obsessed madman that uses everyone to meet his goals and doesn't care about revenge, and George just wasn't that. _No one_ in the _MOTHER/Earthbound_ universe is like that… well, except for Porky, but he has nowhere near the brainpower to pull off such a plan, not to mention he didn't even exist in _MOTHER/Earthbound Zero_. Not even Giygas would work since he's motivated by revenge. There was no one for me to use out of the _MOTHER/Earthbound_ universe that would fill the role of the ultimate antagonist in _Of Chimeras and Ghosts_, and no way to change the storyline to fit any changes resulting from the lack of that ultimate antagonist… so reluctantly, I had to admit defeat.

And that's the reason why I have to discontinue the story. I know a great many of you have been waiting for this to move along, and I sincerely apologize. I'm severely saddened by this too, but there's nothing more I can do.

So in the meantime, I guess I'll be continuing my other stories, _Orphans_ and the second arc of _Snapped_… which is about the only bright side to this: those who enjoyed _Snapped_ get their second arc way sooner than anticipated. And as for those of you who were hoping for a fanfiction about the aftermath of _MOTHER 3_, don't get too disheartened; I still plan to do something about that. New story ideas are already being juggled in my head. Rest assured, I haven't given up. It won't be started for a long time to come though.

And that's all I have to say. Read and write on, fellow authors and readers!

~SL the Pyro


End file.
